Back in April I went to the first ever Kapow!: A two day weekend event, created by comic book writer Mark Millar as London’s answer to the San Diego Comic Con. There were rumblings in the press that this did not go down well with the folk behind the long established MCM Expo. As they have hailed as The London Comic Con for many years, it was reported that they weren’t keen to have that title taken away by an upstart of an event. MCM Expo advertise their long weekend events, held in May & October, as “MCM Expo – London Comic Con”, so you can understand why they were a little upset. Regardless, the Kapow! event was a huge success. In fact, it has already been confirmed that Kapow! will return next year, which of course makes me very happy, but all of this talk got me thinking.
As I have never been to the MCM Expo, I figured it was about time. Although this might seem strange, I have my reasons. Firstly, there’s the scale of the thing – it’s held at the London Excel centre and attracts some 40,000 visitors. I don’t mind crowds, but that is a lot of people. Secondly, there is a heavy bias towards Manga & Cosplay, both of which I enjoy but not as much as just comics. However, after having such a great time Kapow!, I thought “Why Not?”.
So, I hopped online to book. I opted for the Saturday Early Entry ticket, which gives priority entry from 9am til 11am, after which, it’s general entry until it closes at 6pm. I only booked for the one day as it was my anniversary on the Sunday and suspected that my wife might notice If I wasn’t around.
Fortunately, I live in London, so traveling to the event was very straightforward – just a jump on the Underground, one quick change and I was there. Not long into my journey, it became pretty clear that a few of my fellow passengers were heading to the same place. Several Manga characters got on the tube, getting some strange looks form those “not in the know”. There was one gentleman, smartly suited in a top hat and buttonhole, and it was only when I didn’t see him at the event that I realised he was not a superhero and was just going to a wedding.
As the train got closer to the venue, more and more Cosplayers filled the carriages and I began to feel rather underdressed. My meagre Spiderman t-shirt and jeans weren’t really cutting it. By the time we reached our destination, half of the passengers were wearing Cosplay. One thing was for sure, this was an enthusiastic crowd.
I arrived at around 9:20am and, on entering the ExCel building, was ushered to the back of an already substantial queue. We all know that the British have queuing in our blood, but the folk at MCM have it down to an art form (Kapow! take note). Once we started moving, slowly but surely, we passed through the barriers. When we reached a central point, we were asked if we had Early Entry or General tickets. At this point, the queue was split, where me and my Early Entry ticket got directed to a much shorter queue, where tickets were scanned, wristbands attached and goody bags handed out. Then, it was a brisk zig-zag through several barriers, passing the odd Stormtrooper & BikerScout on the way to the main entrance, and finally I was in.
I decided the first thing to do was to set the stage, with a quick Panorama photo set, which I have included for you to enjoy.
I would definitely recommend the Early Entry ticket. It provides a chance to get the lay of the land – something I learned when I was at Kapow!. It’s pretty quiet early on, so you can easily get around the entire hall to work out the places that warrant a proper visit. Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time to mooch around aimlessly at the end of the day when it’s really busy. Trust me. It’s a massive event.
If you are looking to get things signed, get in there first before everyone else. I did and managed to get a copy of Elephantmen vol 1 signed & sketched, as well as Simon’s Cat vol 1 signed & sketched by Simon Tofield, with no queuing in either instance.
One great thing about the ExCel is it’s size. It is huge, which provides the space to simply wander around, exploring and soaking up the atmosphere, and what a fantastic atmosphere it is. It’s like one great big party, where you don’t have to worry about being the only geek who reads comics, watches Manga or plays video games for hours on end. At MCM Expo, geekiness and nerdiness are not just the norm, they’re actively encouraged.
The Comic Con reference is quite misleading. Sure, there’s a Comic Village, consisting of a few rows of desks where comic book artists, writers and illustrators sit around doing their thing, but predominantly the MCM Expo is about Manga, Anime & Cosplay, with a healthy dash of video games thrown in for good measure. This makes sense of why Kapow! are aiming to be the “London Comic Con”. I do think MCM Expo just needs to be a little clearer about what visitors are going to get.
Don’t get me wrong. I really enjoyed MCM Expo, but not for the reasons I thought. I was expecting a more comic based experience, so in this aspect I was disappointed. However, the vibe when walking around was that of a big buzz shared with other expo goers, which is a strange but nice thing that that I can’t really explain. Whether you like Cosplay or not, you simply can’t help but appreciate the time and effort that goes into many of the thousands of costumes on display. I found myself uncharacteristically taking photos of Cosplayers: It was just part of the experience and it seemed appropriate to commemorate it this way.
MCM Expo is a lot of fun and I would certainly look to go again. However, I am a comic fan at heart, so if I had to choose between, MCM Expo and Kapow!, Kapow! it would be. It has more of what I want from a Comic Con. Realistically, neither event is the equivalent of the San Diego Comic Con. One is too comic biased and the other is not quite comic enough.
From what I can see, London is big enough for both events. Geeks are fans after all and fans tend to be pretty fanatical.
